Week two - I will survive!

Hi All!

Sorry about the gap between postings, been a busy week for Ms. Tracy. Here is my "before" pic of me at 244!

Well, second week has gone by. Didn't lose any pounds this week. :( But..... I have gone from a size 26 to a 22! I know this because when I weighed in Sunday morning and didn't see the loss on the scale, I immediately went to the "Archives". Now, ladies, everyone has an archive closet. This is the closet full of clothes that don't fit you anymore, but you don't get rid of them because:

A: You paid too much for them - "This suit cost $400.00! I'll be DAMNED if I get rid of this!"

- or -

B: You paid too little for them -"Get rid of the Anne Klein Plus dress that I got on the clearance rack for $3?!?! Oh hell naw....."

So....I spent a better part of the morning trying on clothes that I had long since forgotten about...and all of the 22's fit!! YAY! And you know what the best part is? Most of the stuff was the wide legged pants with wide waistband and the short cropped jackets! THE STUFF THAT IS IN STYLE FOR THIS FALL!! I'm set !!

.....Of course, I have to have some new shoes and a new look to go with all the clothes that I can get into now, so to soothe my battered ego over the scale (evil! evil scale!) I went out and bought me some eff-me black four inch pumps. And I colored my hair red, well copper. My mom says I look like a hooker, but I feel like a million.

(Speaking of my mother, who is as big of a stitch than I am, she capped on me the other day. Showed me an article on Krispi Kreme going into bankruptcy and said "See what happens when you go on a diet?" Ah hahaha Mom! You're so funny. Looking for your nursing home is going to be a riot!!)

I have been in this weight loss game long enough to know about the body changes, plateaus, muscle weight gain, bla bla. But I have to get at least 8 more pounds off by weigh in on the 21st to reach my goal. ITS CRUNCH TIME! I will admit, last week wasn't a great week for exercise for me....It rained a few nights and I could not do my 7 mile walk and I did skip a few lunchtime walks. Oh yeah and Friday I kinda went overboard on the smoked almonds and the low carb pizza....but that is behind me! Gotta MOOOVE ON!

So, today I joined the local weight training club. This has the basic weights and a couple of treadmills. I also invested in a mini stair stepper to keep at home. I call it my mini heart attack waiting to happen- this thing is so haarrd! I can barely do 10 minutes on it without collapsing in a pool of sweat - but I will persevere! I will admit, this is a lot harder than it used to be...I'm starting to believe all that crap about what happens to you after 40!

So while I am struggling with my goal for the month, I thought I would go into detail about the diet that my doctor and I have chosen. I am following the Atkins low carb diet for two reasons:

1. I am a type 2 diabetic with normal cholesterol and blood pressure- I can control my blood sugar with diet and exercise. Under my doctor's supervision, I have not taken my medicine since I started the diet and tracked my blood sugar levels daily. My blood sugar levels have been normal.

2. Cannot do the leaf and twig thing. Sorry, no butter, no meat, no Tracy. Yes, I have to give up my precious Mountain Dew (I was up to six a day) and Snickers bars (ditto) and my mocha carmel whipped cream infused extra tall coffee (I am crying right now) , but I can have fish, steak, chicken, pork and a great assortment of veggies and salads to go with them. I have even altered a chocolate soy milk to taste as good (well, not as good) as my coffee.

See, this is a life style change, not just a diet and I have chosen the change that I can live with. I want to expound on two things before I go on. You must, must, before starting any diet, see your doctor! Get a checkup, get some tests done, find out what is right for your body type. And ask questions - it's your body, it's your life! And please don't let not having insurance stop you from getting health care for yourself - surf the Internet, call around locally, there are places that charge by your income or not at all! In my time of need, I found a few!

The second thing is this: Get your pens and paper out- ALL DIETS WORK! Yep all of em! Low fat? Sure! Low Carb? Uh Huh! Veggies only? Go for it! Pick the one that you can live with, stick with it and moooove on!

So anyhoo, I chose Atkins because it makes me cut way down on sugars, starches and carbs while letting me enjoy - in moderation - protein rich foods. Contrary to popular belief, you do not just eat fatty meat all day, you have to eat your veggies , you have to eat dairy and salad greens to balance it all out.

But the main reason that I chose Atkins is the Scientific part.....by getting rid of the carbs, your body has to turn to its own fat stores for energy. So, when you move, breathe, exercise, you are burning fat! That is how I went down two sizes! There is also this test that you do with ketone strips to see if your body is in fat burning mode! You pee on the strips and if the strip is purple, you are burning fat for energy! These, plus the scale, have a down side for us obsessive, compulsives tho... more on that another time.

If you would like more info on the Atkin's diet - go get the book! Read it from cover to cover because there is alot more to this than what I have written here!

Well, tonite was the first night of my workouts with the weights and my muscles are rebelling, so till next time!

You can do it!! So can I! Just not right now.....

Oh wait! I almost forgot!! So far, my team has lost of total of 27 lbs! Go Team!

And I would like to give a shout out to Dia at Runchilde - her blog should be called RunLiftWeightsandSweatchilde, cuz sista is doin it all!! And managing to blog everyday! Girl ya making me look bad! Anyhoo, congrats on your weight loss too!

Til next time! YOU CAN ZZZZZZzzzzzz....